TOMI Magazine November 2012

IMAGE DESIGNED TO WIN N ATHANIAL WILLIS III

Everyday when you put on clothes, you are wearing art. A designers vision that you fell in love with in a store window. That particular piece of clothing spoke to you. Not literally. But ‘it’ did say this is me . This is who I am . When I put this on I feel good . I feel confi- dent. The world needs to recognize . The same way you feel inspired so does the designer. Out and about, living, designers too see something that gives them an idea. A thought that leads them straight to the draw- ing board. “Inspiration is the very first thing that comes to mind” - says Nathaniel Willis III. Founder and CEO of Flaucy Inc., a neo-urban apparel enterprise. “I try to design things that are very inspirational in some type of way whether it inspires me or others. Inspiration is the first key before anything.” The consumer falling oh so deep in love with a product isn’t exactly genuine. Marketing and mass appeal research are a big part of product development. Designers spend a lot of time processing what an audience may be ‘ thinking’ at the point-of-purchase. “I look at it from a consumer standpoint. I’m a consumer first so I put my mind into what would the consumer think? How would they want to look? What will inspire the consumer? I want to make products that are inspirational. I want to make products that are aspirational. And then I also want to make it attainable. I have to think of great concepts while I’m designing. Meaning, if I’m shopping, what do I see in the market? What stands out in the market? Col- or, design, concept, new body type? What will set myself and the brand a part from every- thing else? If I go shopping in a mall and I’m in a store that has tons of T-Shirt brands, how does one brand stick out from all the rest? That’s where I start. And I also think of how not to put something out in the market that doesn’t look like everything else. I’m trying to be a trailblazer. Not a biter: where we copy your styles or redeveloping them. We’re not re - inventing the wheel, we’re just putting rims on it. We’re supposed to set the brand a part from everything else that looks the same.” Every designer worth their salt wants to make money. Otherwise you’re just Demi Moore in dappled light making pottery. Gaug- ing the market to determine a products ability

Nathaniel Willis III Founder and CEO WWW.FLAUCY.COM

to turn a profit is an essential part of the brands ultimate financial success. “Obviously that is the gamble that everyone has to take whenever they throw product out there” - says Nathanial. “First of all, you’ve got to start off with feedback. You get feedback from focus groups. You get feedback from yourself. I wear the product before I put it in the market. Whether it’s a retailer or an average person walking down the street, I look at their eye contact. I look at their reaction. Are they look- ing at me or my shirt? If they’re looking at my shirt first then I know I’ve got something go- ing. Or if they stop me in the street and ask where’d I get that shirt from? That just gives me confidence that I’m on the right track. I kind of test the market subliminally before I go and put the product into production. I do it a number of ways. I do it on a street level but I also have buyers and contacts that I can bounce things off of because they see product all day from other different brands. So if I send them a snapshot of what I’m working on

74 NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.TOMIMAGAZINE.COM